The Hiawatha National Forest is planning to hire one to three students (depending on funding) for the summer of 2011. The positions will be located on the East (St. Ignace) and West (Rapid River) Zones of the Forest. Overnight travel will occasionally be required. Planned duties include soil and watershed monitoring and sampling, road/stream crossing inventory, road condition surveys, riparian inventory, BMP inspections, tree planting, invasive species control, wetland restoration, and other duties as assigned. Much of the position will be outdoors in a range of temperatures and weather conditions and over varied terrain, often walking long distances. GPS, GIS, and Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Access) skills strongly preferred. The student may be exposed to other activities within the Forest Service. Both start and end dates will be negotiable with the student and dependent on funding but the position tentatively runs from mid May through late August.

Application Dates:The deadline for submitting an application is February 22, 2010 (postmarked or emailed).

Requirements: This is a STEP (Student Temporary Employment Program) position. The student will need to be certified by the university as a current student in good standing who will be returning as a full-time student in the fall. The student should be enrolled in a natural resources or related environmental science curriculum. A valid state driver’s license is required. The ability to work independently without direct supervision is required.

Application Requirements:

Please submit resume or OF-612, transcripts, and a completed FS-6100-5 for the Summer Student Intern Program (attached). Submit all information to the following address:

Details: Students between freshman and junior years will qualify for GS-3 (approximately $11.95 per hour) and students between junior and senior year will qualify as GS-4 (approximately $13.41 per hour).

The Hiawatha National Forest The Hiawatha is geographically tucked between three of the Great Lakes, within the central to eastern portion of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Rolling hills forested with northern hardwoods, white pine and hemlock, flat land covered by red pine, jack pine and aspen, and large open and tree-covered wetlands form the 879,000 acres of the Hiawatha.

Approximately 775 miles of rivers and streams on the Forest empty into the Great Lakes. Seventy-seven miles of National Forest shoreline lie along Lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron. Nearly 46 percent of the Hiawatha is wetland, the most distinctive of which is associated with sand dune areas created by a prehistoric glacial lake. Within the Forest are more than 400 lakes.

Varying landforms, combined with the influence of the Great Lakes, create many different weather zones. Summer temperatures are typically in the 70 degree range near the Great Lakes shorelines, while inland from the lakes' moderating influence they reach 10 to 15 degrees higher.

There are two separate portions of the Hiawatha. The eastern portion stretches north from the town of St. Ignace, which lies along Lakes Michigan and Huron, to the shore of Lake Superior west of the city of Sault Ste. Marie. The western portion of the Hiawatha extends from the towns of Rapid River and Manistique, along Lake Michigan, to the town of Munising on the Lake Superior shore. The majority of the lands within the Hiawatha boundaries are federally owned. Small privately owned parcels do occur throughout the Forest.

Northern Michiganis known for outstanding recreation opportunities. It affords abundant fishing, biking, hiking, camping, boating, sailing, kayaking, birding, fall color tours, hunting, skiing, snowmobiling and a host of other winter and summer sports. Renowned for its spectacular beauty in the summer, fall and winter, the Upper Peninsula is home to a diverse array of northern hardwoods, pines, pine barrens, dunes and swales, as well as numerous inland lakes, marshes, rivers and streams.